Dec 6 to 10, 2019, Baguio
Every year for the past 4 or 5 years, I always go up to Baguio towards the end of November or in the first week of December for golf. My husband is a major participant in the annual Fil-Am Invitational Golf Tournament. I am describing him as a major participant because he is always winning something. Group championships, second runner-up, defending champion, individual champion, lowest gross, longest drive, sexiest golfer.
I don’t know exactly how many years has he been joining in this tournament but I just remember that in the beginning, I didn’t want him to go to Baguio, para bang, mag-go-golf lang eh ang layu-layo pa. I still remember that exact moment when he was seated in the atrium. He goes… “Inaaya ako nila Chino sa Baguio. Apat na taon na nila ako inaaya. It was his indirect way of getting my nod so he could join the Fil-Am tournament.
I looked at him with no emotion. Then I said “Apat na taon na ba? Gawin mong lima.”
End of the story. For that year. The following year he joined.
Every year, para bang he wasn’t sure if he wanted me to go with him and / or I wasn’t sure if he really wanted me to join him. Last year, weeks of talking about the Fil-Am never included a hint that he wanted me to come with him. So I didn’t plan on having a week break.
The day he left for Baguio, at around 1 pm, while I was in the office, he was calling. He stopped daw at a gas station. He asked me to follow kasi daw meron naman akong driver. Maaga pa naman daw.
Huh? All those times he never told me that he wanted me to join tapos bigla-biglaan sumunod daw ako. It was a Friday, uuwi pa ako para mag-ayos ng gamit, at saka super traffic. I followed the next day, Saturday, and it took us 12 or 14 hours to reach the Baguio Country Club.
This year, the same thing happened. I never felt or heard him say that I was part of the Baguio equation. When he was already in Baguio, he called to ask me to follow, anyway meron naman daw akong driver. At saka weekend naman daw. The same dialogue. I left for Baguio on Friday, December 6, 2019. It took 5 hours from our house to the Baguio City fly-over, then two more hours to reach the Manor Hotel. A combination of heavy traffic and getting lost.
Etong driver ko, kabisado daw nya ang Baguio eh the last time he’d been here pala was more than 12 years ago. There was no fly-over yet. No do not enter and one-way streets yet.
Baguio is chaotic this time of the year. With 1,500 golfers from all over, plus the thousands of domestic and balikbayan vacationers, ay sobrang traffic.
And noisy too. His teammates stayed at the Forest Lodge, while we, at the Manor, my husband’s favorite.
I love the complimentary hot moringa tea from the hotel.
Used to be hot only, they now have cold moringa tea as well.
Delicious raisin breads
Dinner in bed
Grilled prawn salad for me, beef steak Tagalog for the champion golfer.
Nay ko, para akong nasa Disneyland sa ingay. From 6 pm to 10 pm they have a Christmas light show and a re-enactment of FROZEN, let it goooooo let it gooooooo,
I woke up each morning from the sound of plates and utensils of those having breakfasts at Le Chef restaurant, the banging of the covers of stainless steel food warmers and from the waves of laughter of hotel guests. Despite all that, I enjoyed my four nights stay. With chilly temperature? Ang sarap matulog!
